Minister of State for Petroleum Dr Musadik Malik has said that Pakistan will place its first order for Russian crude oil next month, adding that the two countries have agreed on a lot of matters. The minister made the announcement during an interview with a private news channel and maintained that it may take around 26-27 days for the consignment to reach Pakistan. He added that Moscow has assured that Islamabad will receive a discount equal to the amount its neighbouring countries are receiving. While talking about the rising petrol prices in the country, Malik said that “since Pakistan is not an oil producing country, we have to purchase oil from the international market and Pakistan has no control over the price of oil”. He said that Islamabad is on good terms with Tehran and is in contact with them over gas import, adding that importing oil from Iran is not on the cards as it may lead to the imposition of sanctions on Pakistan. Talking about the separate gas tariffs for the rich and poor, the minister said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif have strictly directed the ministry to “divide Pakistan for the rich and the poor”, adding that current government’s policy is to stand with the latter. “We divided the population of Pakistan in two, the rich and the poor,” he said. He further explained the distinction between the two populations and said that they will be divided by the usage of gas, adding that the usage of gas for the poor reduces from November to March. Malik said that the same distinction is being followed with the petroleum subsidy. In November last year, the minister and the petroleum secretary had flown to Russia for talks on issues, including oil and gas supplies. At the beginning of this year, a Russian delegation arrived in Pakistan to discuss the purchase of petroleum products from Russia at discounted rates, besides mulling over the supply of oil and gas from Russia to Pakistan on a long-term basis as well as reviewing the gas pipeline project. Earlier this month, while talking to a private news channel, Malik had said the first consignment of oil from Moscow would arrive in the first week of April. However, according to reports, Pakistan’s plan to import crude oil from Russia has hit a roadblock due to the slow progress on the Pakistani side, disappointing Moscow.